Trappingj &c., in a Hunting Country. 85 



contrivances, he can never succeed to half the 

 extent another keeper will who is able freely to use 

 steel-traps. His estate is bound to he overrun 

 with all kinds of vermin, to the curse of those 

 adjacent, where the steel-trap will be employed to 

 far greater extent, because he does not trap 

 properly. If the latter occurs, what is the gain 

 in the end ? 



A sportsman so obstinate (forgive the word?) as 

 to prohibit the use of a steel-trap is advised to 

 allow his keeper to set them, but with the proviso 

 that they should not be concealed in any way. 

 No fox, under any circumstances, will be so 

 misguided as to venture near an exposed steel- / 

 trap, and yet a lot of vermin may be caught. A 

 poaching cat has no reluctance to place her foot 

 on a bare steel-trap, nor has stoat or weasel, and 

 to clear these off by the best-known means is 

 absolutely necessary to the preservation of game. 

 However, the more cunning kinds of vermin, and 

 they comprise most of the feathered varieties, are 

 not to be easily tempted near a trap unless it is 

 concealed. These must be dealt with by other 

 means, but as poison is out of the question, and 

 traps may not be set so that such vermin may be 

 caught, it is difficult to say what can be done. 



X^ermin trapping, even as carried out by the 



